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| Democrats flirt with backing Charlie Crist |
| 2010-06-17 |
| The emergence of a politically unknown billionaire self-funder in the Florida Senate race is prompting top Democrats in the state to say publicly what some have been whispering for weeks: If Jeff Greene, who got rich betting on the collapse of the housing market, becomes their nominee, many in the party will have the cover they need to get behind Republican-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist. Establishment Democrats in Florida, for now, are sticking with Rep. Kendrick Meek, who lags far behind in early general election polls against Crist and Republican Marco Rubio. Yet with Greene promising to drop at least $40 million of his fortune on the primary and pulling neck and neck with Meek in one survey, Sunshine State Democrats are beginning to consider the increasingly realistic prospect that their nominee might be a "meltdown mogul" -- one who collects erotic art, had Mike Tyson serve as his best man and once hosted "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss as a house guest. Faced with such an awkward possibility, many influential Democrats indicated that supporting Crist -- who has quickly moved leftward since leaving the GOP -- or just remaining quiet would be the better of the unenviable options. The situation is fluid. Many unknown factors hang between now and the August primary, as well as the general election -- not the least of which is how Crist and Rubio will be affected by a criminal investigation into the state Republican Party that has already resulted in a former party chairman's arrest. But in the two months since he dropped his party affiliation, Crist has unapologetically altered his position on a variety of issues to get in line with core constituencies of the Democratic Party, and in doing so, he has managed to cut deeply into Meek's vote share within his own party. Meanwhile, Greene has already spent $4 million of his own money to blanket the state's 10 media markets with ads. With Greene's baggage and Crist's efforts to woo liberals and moderates, senior national Democrats indicate privately that they'd most likely remain on the sidelines if Meek is not the nominee. It all adds up to this: Crist, written off this spring after being effectively pushed out of the GOP by Rubio, could emerge as the de facto Democratic nominee this fall. Or, as Broward County Democratic Chairman and former state Democratic Chairman Mitch Ceasar put it, Crist could head the "anybody but Marco campaign." "If polls indicate that Greene is down by 20 points, then Crist becomes more attractive because then, at least, you stop Rubio and extremism," Ceasar said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 It must really suck to be Kendrick Meek now. |
| Posted by: Mike 2010-06-17 13:57 |
| #7 No kidding. The pièce de résistance of Greene's collection: Hustler issue #1. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-06-17 12:03 |
| #6 their nominee might be a "meltdown mogul" -- one who collects erotic art Is this a fancy term for "porn collector?" |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2010-06-17 11:41 |
| #5 Might as well make it official. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2010-06-17 09:02 |
| #4 Crist, written off this spring after being effectively pushed out of the GOP by Fixed. |
| Posted by: Spot 2010-06-17 08:32 |
| #3 Most amusing thing I saw lately was a car sporting an Obama bumper sticker and a MARCO RUBIO FOR SENATE bumper sticker. |
| Posted by: Guillibaldo Unusing2147 2010-06-17 08:09 |
| #2 Nothing but another POS turncoat that sways with the political wind. |
| Posted by: armyguy 2010-06-17 07:24 |
| #1 Democrats flirt with backing Charlie Crist I am sure he would enjoy that. |
| Posted by: Butch Angomoter2394 2010-06-17 01:15 |